New Zealand Road Trip Itinerary
Our New Zealand road trip, in all honesty, was planned very last minute. We had flights and a few hotels booked but a week before we were set to leave, we rearranged the entire itinerary. Then, while we were on the trip and weather became a factor and things had to shift, we changed the itinerary accordingly. Luckily a good portion of our plans were flexible so most of what we wanted to do worked out, though of course in two weeks it was impossible to see and do everything. Here is what we did...
Day 1
Arrived into Auckland Airport, transfer to hotel at the Auckland Hilton
Dropped off bags and booked a last minute Auckland city tour that drove us around to see the main sites -- spent the day exploring the city and shopping the main area near the waterfront
Dinner at Clooney Restaurant -- delicious tasting meal complete with lots of wine pairings
Midnight New Year's fireworks -- view from the street outside Clooney of Auckland Sky Tower
Day 2
Brunch at Ortolana
A friend of my mom's who lives in Auckland picked us up at the hotel and drove us to Muriwai Beach to see the coast and the ganet bird colony there, then we went back to his beautiful home overlooking the city and sat for awhile chatting with him and his wife and daughter
Dinner at SOUL Bar on the Auckland waterfront
Day 3
Picked up the rental car in the morning from Avis at the Auckland Airport
Drove to Hobbiton Shire's Rest near Matamata for a Lord of the Rings Move Set Tour
Lunch at Alpino Cucina and Vino
Drove to Waitomo Glow Worm Caves for a tour of the caves
Drove to the Lake Taupo Hilton and checked in
Dinner at Rose on Roberts in Taupo
All in all a successful day of road tripping despite the awful rainy weather and random earthquake
Day 4
(Morning floatplane tour canceled due to bad weather)
Drove to Napier and stopped for lunch at Emporium Eatery and Bar
Stopped for a wine tasting at Elephant Hill Estate and left with several bottles of wines and olive oils
Drove south into Wellington to check into the Wellington Intercontinental Hotel
Gourmet dinner at Hippopotamus -- best meal of the trip
Day 5
Spent the day exploring Wellington -- took the cable car to the top then walked back down to the city through the Botanic Gardens and past the Parliament buildings
Torrentially rainy evening spent inside the hotel, ate dinner at the hotel
Day 6
Morning coffee at Havana Coffee Works
Ferry ride across Cook Straight to Picton on the south island (very rough passage, requires lots of seasickness preparedness)
Wine tasting in Marlborough at Cloudy Bay Vineyards
Drove into Nelson to check into Rutherford Hotel
Dinner at Harry's a great Asian inspired restaurant
Day 7
Early morning drive to Marahau for Abel Tasman Kayak Tour -- spent most of the day kayaking around the national park and marine reserve past sea lions, dolphins, and more
Stopped to eat at Hooked on Marahau, an adorable waterfront cafe with great food and trendy decor
Drove back into Nelson and stopped at the Tahunanui Beach for sunset
Day 8
Delicious breakfast at Ford's Restaurant -- sitting outside on the sunny bustling sidewalk, devouring eggs benedict
Wandered around Queen's Gardens and explored Nelson a little bit
Drive to Neudorf Vineyards for wine tasting and a snack of fresh cheese, crackers, and olives
Drive to Bird's Ferry Lodge on the coast, dinner prepared at the lodge
Day 9
A day of road tripping down the rugged coast
Drive to Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks formation and blow holes
Drive south along coast to the town of Hokitika
Lunch in Hokitika at Stumpers, which was every bit an unimpressive touristy joint
Drive to Hokitika Gorge and hike into the gorge
Drive further south along coast to Te Waionui Forest Lodge, a retreat in the middle of the rainforest near the Franz Josef Glacier
Dinner at the lodge
Day 10
(helicopter tour to the Franz Josef Glacier canceled due to bad weather)
Drive south through Haast Pass, stops at Roaring Billy Falls and Blue Pools
Stops along route driving south along Lake Wanaka, enjoying the beautiful scenery and sparkling clear lake water
Wanaka for dinner
Drive to hotel across the Crown Range Road to Arrowtown
Check into hotel at the Millbrook Resort
Day 11
Drove to Queenstown Airport for "Fly, Cruise, Fly" Day Tour to Milford Sound
Flight to Milford Sound, cruise around the fiord, and flight back to Queenstown
Drive back to Arrowtown and dinner at The Postmasters Residence Restaurant
Day 12
Spent morning exploring Queenstown -- took cable car to the view, ate ice cream at Patagonia Chocolates, lunch at Bespoke Kitchen, skydive canceled due to high winds
Drive south along Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau
Checked into hotel at Loch Vista Airbnb
Day 13
Spent most of the day on a tour to Doubtful Sound
Played with sheep and fed lambs with Pam at Loch Vista
Check into the Fiordland Lodge
Dinner at Fiordland Lodge
Day 14
Drove back into Queenstown
Checked into the Hotel St. Moritz
Wandered around town exploring more of Queenstown, skydive canceled for the second time
Dinner at Sasso and drinks at Little Blackwood
Day 15
Sadly and regretfully time to leave -- headed to airport and back to the U.S.
And here's a lovely map that I made for the trip. Fun fact: if you create a map like this using Google Maps, you can actually download it to your phone so that you can use it while you're traveling and you won't need data or service or GPS or anything.